“What response did he get?”
“None that we found.”
Harold frowned.
“Our management company changed in 2020.”
“I know.”
Daniel showed them another document.
A copy of an old check register.
“The association paid annual ground rent until 2018.”
Harold leaned forward.
“How much?”
“Eighteen thousand a year at the end.”
Harold’s face changed.
“I’ve never seen this expense.”
“It was categorized under facility occupancy until 2016.”
“Then under common grounds.”
Karen said:
“This proves we were paying for maintenance.”
Daniel shook his head.
“The memo line says ground lease.”
Harold took the register.
“Who stopped the payments?”
Daniel answered honestly.
“I don’t know.”
That was important.
He did not know.
He had assumptions.
No proof.
Harold looked toward Karen.
“When did you become treasurer?”
“Before president?”
Karen’s face tightened.
“2017.”
The room went quiet.
She immediately understood the implication.
“I did not cancel any lease payment.”
Daniel said:
“I didn’t say you did.”
“Well, you’re all looking at me.”
Harold asked:
“Do you remember these?”
“No.”
“Wouldn’t you have reviewed annual expenses?”
Karen’s voice hardened.
“We had hundreds of expense lines.”
Daniel intervened.
“This isn’t useful.”
Karen looked surprised.
He continued.
“I’m not here to assign personal blame for why accounting failed six or seven years ago.”
“I want the legal situation corrected now.”
That changed the temperature of the meeting.
They moved into the actual proposal.
Daniel had set the new annual ground rent at $26,400.
$2,200 per month.
For nearly four acres beneath a clubhouse, parking lot, pool, and part of the recreation area, it was modest.
Harold knew it.
So did Karen, even if she refused to say so.
The lease required:
The HOA to maintain the building.
Carry liability insurance.
Maintain the pool and parking areas.
Keep drainage channels clear.
Obtain Daniel’s approval before structural expansion beyond the existing footprint.
Allow him reasonable access for property inspection with notice.
Comply with county safety requirements.
Daniel would remain responsible for property taxes associated with the underlying land unless otherwise required by law.
The lease would last ten years.
Two optional five-year renewals.
Rent adjustment tied to a defined index.
No arbitrary increases.
No surprise eviction.
No provision allowing Daniel to interfere with regular resident use.
The association would receive exclusive recreational occupancy during the lease term.
Patricia read it carefully.
“This is actually pretty straightforward.”
Karen stared at her.
“You’re negotiating against us.”
“I’m reading.”
Marsha asked:
“What about the building itself?”
Daniel looked toward Naomi’s notes.
“My attorney’s position is that the expired lease contains an improvements clause.”
“That could give my estate certain rights to permanent improvements left after expiration.”
Karen immediately said:
“So you’re claiming you own the clubhouse.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I’m saying that question is complicated enough that neither side should pretend it’s obvious.”
“That’s why the proposed lease expressly avoids requiring either party to concede permanent improvement ownership today.”
Harold looked impressed despite himself.